Dan Trachtenbergseems to have managed to reinvigorate thePredatorfranchise with new moviePreyand after working on the movie in secret for a long while the director has explained why he feels so many otherPredatormovies failed to match the 1987 original. WithPreyabout to make its debut on Hulu, Trachtenberg has taken thePredatorback to its animalistic roots.
The original Arnold Schwarzenegger movie introduced the fearsome alien to audiences, the Danny Glover-led sequel, which switched the setting to the city, followed in 1990, and then over a decade later two movies that crossed the franchise over with theAlienmovies arrived as a watered-down contribution to the series that didn’t fare well with audiences or critics. In 2010,Predatorsmoved action to the home planet of the race and came closer than most to returning the franchise its former glory. Eight years later,The Predatorarrived in cinemas as one of the worst rated movies of the franchise, but still managed to be a financial success.
NowPreyis bringing something new to the franchise, and Trachtenberg has noted that he wanted to avoid what he believes caused so many issues for the previous sequels. He toldDigital Spy:
“For this one, I really wanted to make this version of the Predator so much more feral and ferocious and animalistic, from its movements to its silhouette and its design. That was something that we looked at the other iterations and tried to zig where they zagged a little bit. The thing that I really wanted to do was, on the one hand, embrace the suit because I love the design of the creature and that it is a practical suit, but also, really attempt to make sure we weren’t limited by the limitations of a physically-built suit with a man inside operating it. I sometimes feel in watching some of the Predator films that it feels very much like a professional wrestler, not literally, but a professional wrestler who’s lumbering around. I feel like it’s driven by a person and I never have really gotten swept away by feeling like it’s an alien creature.”
Related:Prey Review: Amber Midthunder Reinvigorates the Predator Franchise
Prey Has Received Positive Initial Reviews
Preyreceived a premiere at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and critics have not only heaped praise on the latestPredatormovie but the movie has managed to score a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is significantly higher than the 80% the originalPredatorholds. For that alone, it seems like Trachtenberg has more than delivered on his promise to bring the franchise back to its roots.
Now there are already discussions being had about where the franchise can possibly go next, and last month Trachtenberg revealed that any new movies would be about doing things with the franchise that have not been done before. As this is something that seems to have paid off in a big way inPrey,there is no doubt that there are some exciting things to come from thePredatorfranchise in the next few years.Preyis released onHuluin the U.S. and Disney+ in international territories on August 5.
